Away, not gone
by lyra0the0white
Summary: There have been no troubles, all is calm and that's good. But Rukia is no longer needed in the real world and so she must go back. IchiRuki.


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_A.N.: I don't really like them apart. I have no idea why I would come up with this, I hate it when it doesn' end well. Maybe I'll make this a multi-chaptered fic. _

_Sadly, I don't own bleach__ or its amazing characters._

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'I'm leaving'

'Oh. When?'

'In an hour. I'll go to Urahara's and he'll open the gate for me'

'Do you really have to?'

'Yes'

'Hm. I'll go with you'

'You don't need to'

'I want to'

'Ok'

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Half an hour after the conversation took place, two figures could be seen leaving the Kurosaki household.

Rukia had just finished saying goodbye to the rest of the family. Between Isshin and Yuzu's cries of 'DON'T LEAVE US!' and Karin's half grumbled 'We'll miss you' Ichigo hadn't uttered a word.

Ichigo, for a first, was at a loss of what to say. He wanted to say something, he couldn't just let her leave like that, but the situation was still too surreal for him to comprehend it. Once Rukia was in the real world she stayed in the real world, it wasn't a written rule, but in his subconscious it was the most obvious truth.

Rukia knew he wasn't ok with it, but she also knew that it was best for it to be this way. She sometimes had problems figuring out what he was thinking at some point, regardless, she had always known how to handle him. And she knew that if they wanted to part ways with no commotion it was best to keep quiet until the last moments together.

So, in what Ichigo labelled as 'awkward' and Rukia as 'necessary' silence, they walked to Urahara's shop wrapped up in their thoughts on what to say to each other when time came that they had to say goodbye.

'Hello children!' Urahara greeted as they arrived at the store. 'Oh… there will be two people travelling?'

'No!' They said very abruptly as they snapped out of their daze with his words.

'I'm the only one who's going.' Rukia said in a more composed voice.

'I came just to say goodbye' added Ichigo.

'Oh my… Sorry for the misunderstanding… I just need to get something from the back, say your goodbyes then, I'll be right back.'

'Rukia.' Ichigo turned to her. He was still not sure what he wanted to say but he now knew that if he didn't tell her anything now he would probably have to wait a while until he could talk to her again. 'I-'

'Ichigo' She turned to him and looked up to make eye contact 'It was really great spending time here, thank you so much for making it easier for me. I never imagined that doing my job could be so… fun. I'm really glad that I met you…'

'You're talking like we'll never see each other again! You'll visit, right?' Ichigo was getting a feeling on the pit of his stomach and he didn't like it one bit.

'I intend to. But truth is, I don't know if I will be able or allowed to… a lot of time could pass before I come here again… and-'

Whatever she was going to say was muffled by Ichigo's chest. It had been so fast that she hadn't realized he was hugging her until she wasn't hearing herself saying what she wanted to. She hugged him back. This wasn't an Ichigo-like attitude and for him to attempt physical contact she could tell he was struggling with this. She leaned her cheek to his chest as to make it possible for her to talk again. 'It's ok Ichigo…'

'No it's not. It was naïve of me to think that you would be staying here. I never questioned it. It's proving to be quite hard for me to accept that you won't be here tomorrow. I guess… what I'm trying to say is… I'll miss you' and he squeezed her to emphasize what he had just said.

Rukia smiled a little. 'I'll miss you too. Will y-'

'Is everyone ready?' Their embrace was broken in a jump at the sudden interruption. Urahara was back and he didn't wait for anyone's answer to add 'then let's step outside so I can send dear Kuchiki-san to where she belongs.'

And even though Urahara's words spoke nothing but the truth, the meaning behind it made Ichigo and Rukia look at anything but each other. If they looked at each other they would read in each other's eyes "It's the truth" and that would lead to even worse toughts. It was best to avoid those thoughts.

They were led outside. As they realized that their time together was shortening with each step they took the things they hadn't said started to be overwhelming. There were too many things to say that could not be said in a few seconds, none of them knew how to act on it.

On a desperate impulse Ichigo grabbed Rukia's and lowered himself to her ear 'Stay' he said in his most desperate voice. Urahara was now opening the gate. There wasn't much time. 'You know perfectly well I can't' she said with regret. She entwined their fingers and came closer. 'I'll visit. ' She looked him straight in the eye so he could tell she wasn't lying.

'The gate is ready. Whenever you feel ready.' If he heard what they said he didn't comment on it.

'I'm ready' she said without breaking eye contact. She turned to go to the gate but Ichigo was glued to the spot, so at some point their hand contact was lost too. As she stepped into the white light she looked back one last time 'Thank you Urahara… bye… Ichigo' and the light engulfed her tiny frame.

'Bye Rukia' Ichigo seemed to choke out. He wasn't even sure she heard him. The doors were already closing when he had managed to say it. And he just stood there, staring at what had been the gate to Soul Society but was now just empty space.

'It won't open again just because you want it to, you know?' Urahara was definitely trying to lighten the mood but he was also failing miserably at it.

'Thank you. I'll be going home now. See you around'

And so, Ichigo went home. Alone. And only now realizing how cold the night was.


End file.
